A state official announced Thursday a new project that seeks to build thousands of new homes over the next few years in order to supply the demand.

State Secretary of Infrastructure and Urban Development Arturo Espinoza said the project seeks to include provisions to facilitate access of home loans to low-income residents.

According to the state official, Baja California’s real estate market demands about 120,000 new homes while 160,000 additional homes require rehabilitation.

For years, many residential areas have been left abandoned — causing crime and public health issues in these communities.

“We seek to achieve that Baja California families get a home through eight different strategies,” Sec. Espinoza said.

These strategies include property registration, providing services like water and energy, home improvement, self-production, building apartment complexes and investment in basic infrastructure.

The state has already started selling or releasing property to help families that seek to build their own houses.

Sec. Espinoza said the state plans to propose private companies that, in order to facilitate employees through loans or bonuses to access cash to purchase a new home.

La Crónica newspaper recently reported that the state has about 30,000 abandoned homes — of which 18,000 are located in Mexicali.

The City of Mexicali recently launched a program to rehabilitate around a thousand homes through forestation and improving parks and public transit services, as well as increasing police services.